Galle attack, BBC and national security– II

by Bandu de Silva
Former Ambassador
Continued from yesterday

The Navy Targeted

It is the Navy that has been a great obstacle to the LTTE. The Navy provides the supply line to the peninsula. It transports both men and war material as well as sustenance to the people. The Navy has also successfully interrupted movement of arms ships and other Sea Tiger activity. Once the Navy is crippled the surrender of the Jaffna peninsula is complete as the Air Force is incapable of replacing the Navy. It was with this intention that attacks were launched on the Trincomalee harbour and the ships carrying armed forces several times recently in addition to the build up in Muttur. So was the attack directed at the navy men (unarmed) close to Habarana. The Naval Base at Galle (Dakshina) two days later was the other target. There could be more targets. LTTE works according to a plan while the armed forces do not seem to have the intelligence to perceive it.

Lack of emphasis on VIP Security

When the Karandeniya Police adjoining my village accidentally came upon a lorry carrying a deadly haul of claymore mines and dangerous weapons it was argued that they were to target a VIP. The consignment was intended to be delivered to contacts in Diviture Estate nearby from where they could be transported through inland routes avoiding the main highways where security checks are conducted. Our intelligence sleuths never conceived that it could have been meant for any purpose other than targeting a VIP.

Karandeniya and Diviture are very close to the port of Galle and there are a number of un-policed inland routes to get from there to Galle. The problem is that our intelligence people seem to have become over obsessed with VIP security. VIP security is equated to national security of because of the "rewards" which go with it has gone to create an imbalanced security perception to the neglect of public security in general, security of our tourist infrastructure, and of our security forces in transit unarmed.

Look at what happened near Habarana where 100 unarmed Navy men who were killed and another 100 seriously injured and perhaps, immobilised for ever, in a single LTTE suicide truck attack. There was much done by the Navy to save the lives of 700 unarmed soldiers who were attacked by the LTTE on the high seas and to avert a second such attack in the sea, but security could not be provided to the Navy men travelling unarmed on land. What about security at our bus stands, railway stations, schools, Universities and tourist resort areas? In contrast, what one sees is the disproportionately heavily armed security following our VIP vehicles; and we hear reports of a former President provided with as many as 50 armed (some bullet proof) vehicles with a large contingent of armed men following her even overseas. What a scandal! Shouldn’t the government open its eyes on this imbalance in our security strategies and correct them. That is the way to assure that the public, the school children and tourists are secure at least psychologically.

No one grudges the security provided to the VIPs at a reasonable level. One may ask why these persons are being provided with security at high cost when unarmed security forces who sacrifice their lives in defence of the country’s sovereignty and the public, the school children and other are neglected. At least shouldn’t those within government ranks who go round preaching against war be asked to look after their own security when they go on those rounds!

Karandeniya Revisited

As regards the arms haul at Karandeniya in the south, the easiest explanation was that the target was a VIP on pilgrimage to Kataragama. True, there is a point there. The Prime Minister visited a temple near Galle for a ceremony some days after the find but that was a part of a short term agenda.

As a man from the area, who has traversed its length and breath, I can tell any one that from the thinly populated plantation area of Diviture (where the lethal cargo detected at Karandeniya was to be deposited) it is only a hop skip and a jump to the Galle harbour area through un-policed rural village roads like through my village which links Diviture to Galle. Even during the JVP insurrections, the insurgents crossed the footpaths through vast cinnamon jungles in ten to fifteen minutes to get to the next village while the Police in their vehicles took several hours to reach them. I know some of these tracts there like the palm of my hand.

Tourism

The other aspect is the timing. The attack coincided with the beginning of the tourist season in the South. Even if the targeted attack on "Dakshina" failed, it had a telling effect on tourism. This is why the Tourism Ministry is concerned and disturbed already, as it is, by the travel adversaries issued by a number of countries against travelling not only to the North and the East but also to other areas. Shouldn’t the Tourism Ministry itself have given serious thought to security at tourist destinations rather than split hairs over what a foreign journalist has said?

I think the Tourism Ministry is displaying sheer naivete over the Galle incident.

It should have been recognised that the LTTE terrorists are capable of attacking soft targets as well as military installations in any part of the island now. They have collected enough intelligence round the island benefiting from the CFA which gave them freedom to do political work. Who is answerable to these?

No Reason to Panic

There is no reason to panic. It does not mean losing hope. Don’t Americans live today with nightmares of terrorist attacks after September 11th disaster, which they never dreamt of? That did not mean the US closed shop and let the terrorists take over. Can for that matter, any tourist go safely in any place of the world today, whether it be in Bondai beach or Barrier Reef in Australia, Bali, Miami, Moombai, London or anywhere else without running the risk of terrorist attack; or, board an air craft without fear?

According to BBC’s own correspondent Gordon Corera, who quoted from Security sources, the situation in Britain is very grim with Al Queda being organised into cells like the IRA and hard evidence forthcoming of Britain having being made its "top target" with Universities and the community as targets. Such is the situation caused by international terrorism.

I remember the time when a famous American pianist came to me in Canberra with the Manager of ABC Television, (Terry Coluhn, who was my very close friend) to obtain a visa to visit Sri Lanka (Ceylon then) in mid 1960s. He told me all that he wanted was to spread his hammock somewhere around Koslanda and sleep in the open close to a waterfall as he had done several times. He said it was the safest place in the whole world! How things have changed today?

Like in the US (read President Bush’s September 11th Remembrance day speech), in Sri Lanka, the will of the nation to fight terrorism should be maintained through dedication and re-dedication. That cannot be done through holding anti-war rallies as some of our own Ministers and leading politicians do. Nor should our authorities try to play down the danger as they did over the Galle incident. They should take a lesson from the British security and face the problem squarely.

Asking the people, including tourists to live on a false sense of security is the worst thing one can do.

-The Island

Jayawardene named Captain of the Year by the ICC

Mahela Jayawardene, the Sri Lanka captain, was tonight named as the Captain of the Year at the ICC Awards in Mumbai. He was also appointed captain of the World ODI Team of the Year.

Between August 1 2005 and August 8 2006, Jayawardene captained his side in nine Test matches, winning five of them, and 14 one-dayers, winning ten. He beat off strong competition from the England captain Michael Vaughan, Australia`s Ricky Ponting and the India captain Rahul Dravid.

Perhaps the highlight of his leadership was Sri Lanka`s comeback in the Test series in England, where they shared the three-match clash 1-1. He then led Sri Lanka to a comprehensive five-match series win over England in the one-dayers and a 2-0 series win over South Africa. During the voting period, Jayawardene`s Test batting average was over 55.

`It`s a shock,` Jayawardene said. `I am really thrilled even to be nominated for this award alongside Ricky, Michael and Rahul. So to actually win it is a great feeling. `This award means that the team has done well. I think a captain is only as good as his team. This is really for the team work we have show. The whole team deserves this because they have put so much work into this.

`I am still a stand-in captain. Hopefully Marvan (Atapattu) will be back from injury soon and I will be glad to just be there alongside him on the field.`

This is the first time the ICC Awards has included a Captain of the Year honour. Jayawardene received the award from the former Pakistan captain Imran Khan. -LNP